Car Once Owned by David Bowie Sells for $218,000

A 1981 Volvo 262C Bertone Coupe that had been owned by David Bowie has been sold for 212,800 Swiss francs, which translates to a little more than $218,000. The final price was almost three times more than its estimated value.

According to Motoring Research, Bowie purchased the car in June 1981, when he was living in Blonay, Switzerland as a tax exile. It had been registered in his given name of David Robert Jones, and ownership was transferred to the Bewlay Brothers, his publishing company named after the closing track from 1971's Hunky Dory.

Bowie's car, one of only 6,620 262Cs ever produced, had only 33,000 miles on it and described as being in “very good and well maintained original condition.” He took the standard model – a 2.8-liter V6 engine, leather interior, cruise control and alloy wheels – and added the automatic transmission and Volvo's stereo system with Blaupunkt speakers.

The Volvo 262C coupe was built by the Italian design house Bertone with the hopes of competing with contemporary luxury models like the Cadillac Eldorado. Bowie's car appears to have been one of the last of its kind produced before production ceased in 1981.

Bowie's son, director Duncan Jones, recently launched the Bowie Book Club, inviting fans to read some of the singer's favorite books. The first title is Peter Ackroyd’s Hawksmoor, a 1985 novel about a series of murders committed in churches that, 200 years earlier, had been built from human sacrifices. Hawksmoor had appeared on a list of 100 "must-reads" that Bowie created in 2013.